August 2015 Recap

That's right folks.  I'm posting a recap of last month before the end of the next.  Try to collect yourselves.  

I could sum up the month rather quickly by simply stating "school started" and most of you would be able to read between the lines and understand all that that statement entails.  But then again, no one has ever accused me of being concise, so here's a little more detail:

David and I went out on the 1st for a nice dinner and a movie to celebrate our 11th anniversary, which was the day before.  That's right - A MOVIE.  We don't do movies very often.  This would explain why we stood in front of the kiosks like two eighty year olds dumbfounded (and a little miffed) by the fact that we had to choose an assigned seat.  What in the world?!  Well.  It turns out that movie theaters have gotten quite fancy in the last 18 months since we last graced them with our patronage.  They now have these massive reclining chairs - more like love seats, actually - and there are singles and doubles, which requires assigned seating.  Such luxury!  We saw "Mr. Holmes" and, though a little slow, it was a good movie.  We wanted something clean and non...idiotic, and it served us well.  

I vowed that whatever race sponsors weren't procured or whatever consignment pricing wasn't complete by July 31st just wasn't going to get done because I really wanted to focus on Audrey's last week of summer.  I mostly stuck by that and we had a great few days soaking her up.  We even sent Luke to David's parents one afternoon so we could have a Daddy-Daughter-Date Night with just her.  She and I went to the mall and picked out a new dress for her first day of school and then met David for dinner at her new favorite restaurant, Tom Chee's.  We went home and scooped giant bowls of ice cream to eat while watching "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", which she loved.  After that was over, we let her crawl into bed with us, but she only made it until about 9:30 before she realized there was much more space, and therefore comfort, in her own bed.   The next morning we took her to her Open House at school and then David went on to work while she and I picked out new shoes for her and then met Luke and her grandparents for lunch.  

The next few days before school started were pretty lazy.  I had consignment sale drop-off that Friday morning (no, their timing could not have been worse and yes, I did make my opinion about it known.)  That weekend we went swimming and David took them to our neighborhood lake to try fishing for the first time.  We let them have ice cream for lunch and took them out to dinner at Suwanee Town Center to eat and hear some live music.  Basically we grasped frantically at the final days of her summer and did a pretty good job of sucking every last drop out of it that we could.  After I tucked her into bed on Sunday (certain to have sprinkled the "Jitter Glitter" her teacher gave her under the pillow), I walked back into our room, laid my head down on David's chest, and cried.  I was not ready for another school year.  It wasn't just the ache of missing her, though that was certainly the majority of it.  It was also the onslaught of volunteering and responsibilities and busyness that I knew was coming that I just wasn't ready for.  But, no one had asked me.  So I faked a big smile and a cheerful heart and woke her up the next morning ready to send her to first grade.  I held it together the whole way to school, only nearly losing it when Lady Antebellum's "Compass" came on.  We prayed and I dropped her off at carpool with a big hug and kiss.  And then I cried the whole way home.  

I had the consignment sellers' presale that very night (see previous comment about my being furious with the timing.)  I dithered about going at all, but 80-90% of both kids' wardrobes come from this one sale at a fraction of the cost of retail, so it was going to cost us a pretty penny and a ton of time to shop elsewhere if I skipped it.  Thankfully I had good luck and that lessened the pain.

The rest of the week went by quickly with a meeting for the race and more work on it, an eye doctor appointment for Luke (his vision is great, praise the Lord!), errands, and cleaning that I'd been putting off.  We kept our afternoons and evenings clear so Audrey could come home and crash, which she did.  She had good reports from the first few days.  Her only exasperation stemmed from a little boy in her class who has a hard time listening and obeying.  (Well, hello LIFE.  Get used to annoying people, kid.)  Everything else seemed to be going well for her, which was a huge relief for me.  

The next week was even busier:  An HOA meeting about the race that I'd been super nervous about but that went off without a hitch, Curriculum Night at Audrey's school (I'm Room Mom again - wahoo!  And Audrey's teacher seems incredible - double wahoo!), an eye appointment for me, a meal to a sweet friend battling cancer, and All Pro Dad for Audrey and David (a breakfast meeting with a speaker for kids and their dads).  We concluded the hectic week with a relaxing boat ride and dinner picnic with David's parents on Friday night.  The kids jumped in and swam around, happy as clams.  

The final week of the month I had a physical (are you detecting a "catch-up-on-doctor-appointments" theme?), a Room Mom meeting, Spirit Night, and a massive brake job on the van.  (Word to the wise:  When the mechanic tells you that your brake pads are at a "2" on a 1 to 10, do not wait another six months.  Even if they're the rear brakes and even if you never heard squeaking.  Rotors had to be replaced.  It was U-G-L-Y.)  David left on Friday morning for his annual guys' golf weekend.  I took the kids to Alabama that Saturday to see his family and celebrate his mom's birthday.  We had a great time visiting and eating and playing with the kids.  It didn't phase me a single bit that David wasn't there and I realized yet again how awesome it is to have such incredible in-laws.  He returned safely that Sunday night and we swapped stories from the weekend before putting the kids to bed and crashing.  

So that was August.  In summary:  School started.  Buckle up...September is comin'. 

P.S.  I don't have many quotes from the kids this month, but I'll leave you with this one from Luke that's sure to become one of my all-time favorites:

Me:  "Thanks for being so patient during all of our errands, Buddy.  You're doing a great job."

Luke:  "If I stop being patient, do we get to go home?"